Day 4 - Sturgis

Lake Pactola

Main Street Sturgis

Today we went into downtown Sturgis. For those of you who have never been, there is not much of a town, except during Rally Week each year. Much of the town is shut down the majority of the year, coming alive for one week every August. If you want to have a peek, use the following web site...please note, for the Chevron viewers, do not use the company computers to look at night.... http://rapidcityjournal.com/app/pages/sturgisrallydaily/sturgis_webcam/



I honestly can't explain this...

We got up early and rode the 50 miles from Hill City to Sturgis. I had forgotten how beautiful the ride is. You pass the Pactola Reservoir along the way as well as the city of Deadwood. It was a cool morning and not too much traffic. We cut the dogs loose which really felt good after the wildlife tour yesterday which is much slower. Once in Sturgis, we parked the bikes on the main drag which was fairly open at that time which is unusual. It may be the economy, or perhaps global warming which I previously warned you about. Either way, I'm blaming Obama. He has ample time to straighten this sh-- out!

The only thing I can say about Sturgis is, seen it once, seen it enough... The vendors are the same, t-shirts, bike stuff and t-shirts.... It was hotter than hell! The temperature was 98 degrees. I was hoping it may cause less clothing on the women, but today was actually pretty calm. I'm not saying we didn't see some dainties, just not as much as previous years.

Sturgis Air Conditioning!

There was a great bike show. Some of the bikes looked like you may be able to ride them. Others, not so sure. One of the bikes had a radial engine similar to an older aircraft, while another had steering in the rear. All well done, few were practical. Snake's next bike....

We eventually could not stand the heat and elected to head back. Along the way, we stopped in Deadwood, an old mining town famous for being the location where Wild Bill Hickok was killed. The town does a pretty nice job of welcoming bikers. All the same t-shirts, less crowds and more parking.

After a quick tour of the main street, we headed home to Hill City where we stopped to take a few photos at the Pactola Reservoir. We also purchased water for $1 from the park service. Best deal in South Dakota. Dinner was in Custer City. Fillet mignon for $14 and it was wrapped in bacon. It does not get any better than that. Tomorrow we are off to the Bad Lands for our last ride in South Dakota this year.

See you on the road!